Watch: Block CEO Jack Dorsey discusses decentralizing Bitcoin mining

Stealth Bitcoin startup Ocean is hosting a one-day event today in South Carolina where it will unveil new technology aimed at decentralizing Bitcoin mining.

The day-long event will bring together industry leaders, including Block CEO Jack Dorsey, longtime Bitcoin developer Luke Dashjr, and others to discuss the topic. This event will be hosted at a local Bitcoin mining facility.

This topic is noteworthy, considering that mining has become a centralized industry in recent years. This is not necessarily due to concentrated ownership of the actual mining hardware, but rather a centralized dependence on large mining pools to actually collaborate with other miners.

This poses problems on several fronts. The pool that manages miners’ funds provides the ability to withhold payments and force actual miners to behave or act in a certain way. The two largest pools require KYC information before allowing anyone to mine. Large pools can use their customers’ hashrate to actively censor transactions if chosen or mandated by the government.

Pools are an essential part of the Bitcoin network. Because without a pool, the only option is solo mining. This means very rare and random payments that are very unpredictable and make high-capital business plans very risky.

Nonetheless, Dorsey’s interest in this topic, while notable, is not new. As recently as April, Dorsey hinted that Block was turning its attention to Bitcoin mining and was looking to enter the sector by purchasing Bitcoin mining chips. Dorsey has been public about his interest in the issue since 2021.

It is not yet known what solutions Ocean will release, whether Block will participate, or whether Dorsey or Dashjr will have specific roles in the startup.

For more information, Ocean’s live stream begins at 10:30 AM EST and will be broadcast live on Bitcoin Magazine’s X, Rumble, and YouTube channels.